Anees Nadodi

Anees Nadodi was born in Chelari, Malappuram.^[4] He is a postgraduate in Mass Communication and Journalism from SAFI Institute of Advanced Study.^[5] He worked as an assistant lecturer of journalism in MIC College, Malappuram before starting his film career.^[6] In his early days as a prop-artist, Anees and his friends founded Kakka Artisans, an upcycle art company that concentrated on Found objects.^[7][8]

Anees Nadodi started his career by doing art direction for a music video, Funeral of A Native Son, directed by Muhsin Parari.^[9] Later, he worked as an assistant art director on films like Tiyaan, Adam Joan, Nimir etc..^[4] His first independent movie was the 2018 film Sudani from Nigeria, directed by Zakariya Mohammed.^[9] Sameer Thahir, one of the producers of the movie, suggested Anees Nadodi to Amal Neerad for his next film, Varathan, which was released later in 2018.^[10] Nadodi's work for the movie was well appreciated, especially for the violent fight sequence using household goods.^[11]

His next films were Thamaasha and the Tovino Thomas starrer Luca.^[12] Anees Nadodi joined Luca as a replacement, but the crew was impressed with him, and the looks and artistic personality of the titular character, Luca, a talented artist, were redesigned based on those of Anees Nadodi.^[10] Also, it was Nadodi's suggestion to make Luca a scrap artist rather than just a painter.^[10]

His next movie to release was Kappela, which won him the National Film Award for Best Production Design.^[13]